


Icy Conditions

by BarPurple



Series: Frederick St Offices [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 03:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13181187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: While Emma and Neal are Christmas shopping, Belle and Aiden have their first lunch date as a couple.





	Icy Conditions

Emma glared at the two guys who were trying to sidle onto the bench seat next to her. Even with the heavy snow on the ground the German Market was already filling up, and there was no way Emma was giving up this seat until she’d had her hot chocolate. She’d not finished her shift until the early hours and she needed this to stand a chance of functioning today.

“Come on, babe, budge up.”

Okay she’d give it up to a parent with kids, or an older person, but not to two smarmy city types who thought they were entitled to call her ‘babe’. She spread her knees and elbows further out and raised an eyebrow at them. They got the hint with bad grace and pushed their way through the crowd to the other side of the bar. Neal wormed his way through a gap, and managed to get two mugs of hot chocolate to the table with out spilling a drop. Emma tugged her gloves off and wrapped her hands around the mug with a sigh.

“Okay, you ready for some amazing news?”

Neal had been dying to tell her something since they met up, but she’d insisted on getting a hot drink first. He’d managed to hold back whatever he wanted to say, but he was practically vibrating now. She took a sip of chocolate and nodded at him.

“Yeah, now I am.”

“Y’know I said I had to drop into work to get my gloves? Well guess who I found cuddled up on the couch in Pops’ office?”

“I’m gonna guess your Dad.”

Neal bumped her with his shoulder; “Well, yeah, but he wasn’t alone.”

Emma’s eyes went wide, he had to be talking about the woman Aiden had been seeing recently, his friend Belle, Neal was adamant that there was some serious flirting going on, but that his Pops was being oblivious.

“Woah! Like were they dressed, or are you repressing some trauma?”

“Ew, thanks for that image! No, all clothed and under a blanket. The Jag wouldn’t start for Pops, and there were no trains for Belle, so they’d spent the night in the office together.”

“And this wasn’t just cuddling for warmth? This was snuggling?”

“Snuggling for sure,” – He hissed as he burnt his tongue on his hot chocolate, - “I left Pops my car, so he could take her home.”

Emma nodded, and a thought occurred; “Should we get a present for Belle?”

Neal blew out a breath, his breath leaving a cloud of fog in the crisp air; “Yeah, I think we should. She’s mad for tea, drinks loads of the stuff, almost as much as Pops, so teacup?”

It was a good idea, certainly showed a bit more thought than bath bombs, or chocolates, which told Emma that Neal was hoping this relationship would work out for Aiden; “There’s a stall with some fun Christmas mugs.”

“Cool, we’ll add it to the list.”

Emma smirked; “And check it twice.”

Neal grinned at her; “Nice to see you’re awake now.”

The hot chocolate had chased away the last sluggishness of sleep, which is why she asked; “Do you think Belle is gonna be good for your Dad?”

Neal tilted his head at her; “Is this actual copper sense tingling, or general concern because you’ve not met her yet?”

Emma could be wary about new people; Neal understood that is was a habit she’d picked up in the foster system and then honed by becoming a police officer. He respected he instincts, and would listen to her if her gut told her something was wrong, and help her dig to find out exactly what had set off her intuition. 

Emma mulled it over as she finished her drink; “I think this is just new person caution, from what you’ve told me she sounds nice. I reckon once I meet her I’ll like her just as much.”

Neal gave her a one-armed hug, “I’ll suggest we all get together for a drink one evening after work.”

She chuckled at him; “To be honest I thought you’d be freaking out that Belle is about our age.”

“Hey, Pops is only seventeen years older than me, it’s not really that weird.”

Emma pressed a kiss to his cheek; “You’ve got head head screwed on pretty well Cassidy.”

He laughed; “Yeah, see if that’s true once we’ve finished Christmas shopping. You ready to brave the hordes?”

\--

Aiden was glad he kept a change of clothes in the office. It had become a habit when Neal was young, and lunchtimes spent with a toddler were guaranteed to leave something smeared, or drooled on his suit. Of course, his son was now heading towards thirty and wasn’t quite the messier eater he had been, but the habit had stuck, and after sleeping in this suit is was a blessing to be able to get changed.

He caught sight of his dopey grin in the bathroom mirror, that look probably wasn’t going anywhere for quite a while. Belle had spent the night cuddled up against his chest, sharing a few kisses, and the body heat that was vital considering the weather. It had been wonderful, even when Neal blundered in on them Belle had taken it in her stride, and laughed when he’d grumbled that he should string Neal’s gloves onto his coat like a wee bairn. 

His smile faded when he walked back into his office and found it empty. A moment of panic gripped him, but he relaxed when he spotted movement in the office across they way. Belle waved at him and pointed towards the bathrooms. His eyes widened at the sight of something lacey in her hand. She pulled it quickly from sight and ran to the bathrooms. For a long moment he stood there and tried to work out what she’d felt the need to nip over to her office for. A blush coloured his cheeks as he remembered that Belle worked for a clothing company, the only explanation for something that lacey was underwear. Oh dear. Well, at least she’d be comfortable on the drive to her home.

 

Belle gently banged her head against the bathroom door. Had she really just wave a pair of knickers at Aiden? Yup. She snorted at herself, it was a bit embarrassing, but not the end of the world. At least there had been a pair of undies in her size in the review box, although the scratchy feeling lace wasn’t going to get a high mark when she blogged her review, they would do the job for now. Clean undies, a liberal spray of deodorant and a splash of clod water on her face, and she was as ready for the day as she was going to get without a cup of tea.

When she walked back into Aiden’s office she found another reason to love this man; he’d made them both a cuppa. He gave her a shy smile; “Thought you might need that.”  
Belle took a sip of tea and sighed in contentment, before she leaned over and gave him a kiss; “Thank you, Aiden.”

“No trouble. Right, I’ve had a look at the traffic reports, the snow ploughs had been out and apparently the Bristol Road is clear all the way to Northfield. As long as we take it steady we should be fine.”

She’d been worried about that; “We might hit a problem when we get to my street, it’s not a main road.”

Aiden shrugged; “Neal’s car is tough, we’ll manage.”

 

The drive wasn’t to bad. They’d listened to Planet Rock and discussed where they wanted to go for lunch. Belle fell quiet as they reached the turning for her street, letting Aiden concentrate on driving on the snow. There had been a few people up and down the road so there were tracks to follow.

“Just here on the right.”

Aiden bumped the curb as he pulled into a parking space.

“Sorry about, couldn’t see it for the snow.”

“Don’t worry. Erm, it’s going to be pretty cold in my flat, I’ll understand if you want to wait in the car.”

He unlatched his seatbelt and gave he a cheesy wink; “I can survive a bit of cold, besides you might need me to keep you warm.”

\--

Belle wasn’t wrong, her little flat was freezing, but Aiden barely noticed, he was far too amazed by the sheer number of books. The hallway was lined with book cases, as were three walls of the living room. French doors covered the fourth wall allowing plenty of light into the room, and a view of the snow-covered garden at the back.

Belle grinned sheepishly at him; “Yeah, I read a lot.”

He knew from their lunchtime conversations that she enjoyed reading, but he’d had no idea just how passionate she was about books. She was standing by the door he guessed led to her bedroom, her fingers were twisting together as if she was nervous.

“Belle, this is amazing.”

The tension in her posture evaporated and a wide smile spread across her face; “Make yourself comfortable, I won’t be long.”

As Belle closed the bedroom door, Aiden took a closer look at the bookcases. If Belle had a shelving system, he couldn’t decipher it; fantasy sat next to science textbooks, history novels sat next to atlases, and sprinkled throughout was a fair number of horror collections. Belle apparently read anything and everything, including some legal textbooks he recognized. The only really oddity that he couldn’t understand was her aversion to the bottom shelves, they were either bare or only held things packed into plastic crates.

 

Belle was feeling giddy as she dug through her wardrobe looking for a clean, warm jumper. Aiden liked her flat. It was amazing, most people who came in found all the books off-putting. She’d seen people become nervous and defensive, one boyfriend even told her that flaunting her intelligence like that was unattractive. Needless to say, he’d become an ex-boyfriend very quickly after that comment. Aiden’s eyes had lit up with the kid in a candy store look of a fellow bibliophile. 

She worried that she’d misjudged his acceptance of her library-like home when she stepped out of her bedroom and found him with his head tilted to one side and a frown on his face.

“Aiden?”

He turned to face her with a puzzled smile on his face; “Why don’t you use the bottom shelves?”

Belle laughed with relief; “Oh, the river runs along the bottom of the street, we’ve had floods, so I keep the books above floor level, just in case.”

“Oh, I see,” – he glanced out of the window at the thick blanket of snow on the ground, - “Are you going to be okay when that lot melts?”

She slipped her arms around his neck and smirked; “You’re worried for my books?”

He placed his hands on her hips and swayed them gentle on the spot; “Well, it is an amazing collection, and I spotted several that I quite fancy reading.”

Belle gave a gasp of mock shock and gently tugged a lock of his hair; “Coveting my books, Mr Gold? Will I have to frisk you on the way out?”

Aiden pulled her in closer, and hummed thoughtfully; “Perhaps a strip search would be in order, Miss French?”

She snorted and buried her head in the crook of his neck; “Sorry, sorry, just the idea of a strip search in this weather…”

He shivered and snuggled into her; “Aye, that was a terrible idea. All joking aside, are your books going to be safe?”

“Yup, the drainage was improved over the summer. Didn’t even get a drop in here during all that rain we had in September.”

They lost sometime kissing, and the idea of stripping off for more pleasurable activities might have been considered if Aiden’s stomach hadn’t rumbled.

 

\--

 

Chuck loathed the German Market, Christmas shopping was stressful enough without the council deciding to fill the streets with stalls selling food and drink, and assorted crafts. He wouldn’t have ventured into the city at all today if he hadn’t left his laptop charger at in the office, and unfortunately the easiest way to Frederick Street was right through the bedlam of the German Market. 

Making his way past one of the hotdog stands he spotted Belle through the crowd, he was about to go over and say hello when she moved to one side and he saw who she was with. His step faltered, and he ducked back behind on of the craft stalls. What on Earth was his employee doing enjoying a hotdog with Aiden Gold?

Last week Penny had mentioned that she’d seen Belle having lunch with Gold, but he’d been convinced that was just a case of the café being crowded and Belle having no choice but to sit with the cranky lawyer. Now as he watched Belle laughing while she dabbed at Gold’s shirt with a napkin, he had to think maybe Penny was right and there was something going on between the two of them. He was left in no doubt when Gold put his arms around Belle and kissed her.

Chuck turned away and headed towards the office. He’d not liked Gold from the first time he’d met him. The man was the landlord’s lawyer and would frequently remind Chuck about the clauses of the lease. It had always rubbed Chuck the wrong way, since Gold had written the contract he wasn’t open to negotiations about what could be charged to the building fund, and what had to come out of Chuck’s business.

He didn’t mind one of his employees getting friendly with a lawyer, but this was Belle, and she was, well, stubborn. She had a wide knowledge of consumer rights and wouldn’t let herself be guided into doing what was best for the company. Chuck suddenly swore and startled the pedestrians nearest to him. He gave them an apologetic smile and muttered something about the icy conditions. If Belle was getting friendly with Gold it could be that she had decided to try use the lawyer to force Chuck to meet the health and safety measures she said were necessary for the office. Damn, that would be expensive and terrible for business. There was no choice, he’d have to have a word with Belle on Monday, maybe if he pointed out that a relationship with Gold wouldn’t be good for her continued employment, she’d see sense.


End file.
